The 30-Day $100 Savings Challenge (Rutgers NJAES) (2024)

FAQs

What is the $100 in 30 days challenge? ›

The goal of the Challenge is simple: save $100 in a 30-day time period through a series of gradually increasing deposits. November has 30 days so every day is a savings day. As shown in the picture below, daily savings deposits start at $1 a day for five days followed by $2, $3, and $4 each for five days.

It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random. After you've filled up all the envelopes, you'll have a total savings of $5,050.

Here's how it works: When you have the urge to make an impulse purchase, wait for 30 days and give yourself time to think about it. While considering the purchase, deposit the money you need for it into a savings account. If you still want to buy that item after the 30-day period is up, go for it.

The 100 envelope challenge is a saving system where you label 100 envelopes from 1 to 100. Then every day for 100 days you pick a numbered envelope and put the amount of cash inside that matches the number on the envelope. At the end of 100 days, you'll have saved a total of $5,050.

Take stock of your savings At the end of 100 days, you'll have 100 envelopes containing $5,050. That's right—1 + 2 + 3 + 4 and every other number through 100 equals just over $5,000.

How can I save $10,000 in six months of envelopes? Saving $10,000 in six months essentially doubles the original 100-day challenge, so you would stick to the same savings protocol but do so with 200 envelopes over 200 days.

The 100 Envelope Challenge is designed to be completed over 100 days. Each day, you deposit a specific amount of money into an envelope, starting with $1 on day #1, and increasing by $1 each day until you reach $100 on day #100. By then, you'll have saved $5,050.

However, a 30-day challenge may not get you the results you're aiming for. One month isn't long enough to change your habits completely — it usually takes three to six. “People get discouraged after two weeks because their biceps aren't getting any bigger or running a mile is still really hard,” says Dr. Sprague.

To reach $10,000 in one year, you'll need to save $833.33 each month. To break it down even further, you'll need to save $192.31 each week or $27.40 every day. These smaller chunks are much more realistic and simple to comprehend, making it easier to track your progress.

If you wanted to save $1,000 in three months, for example, you'd need to save roughly $84 per week. That timeline can also provide you an opportunity to invest in a high-yielding time deposit account.

What is the 1 to 100 savings challenge? ›

The 100-envelope challenge

Take 100 envelopes and write the number 1 to 100 on them. This number is the number of pounds you'll need to add to the envelope. Each week, pick out two envelopes at random and put the amount shown on the front into them.

At the end of 100 days, you should have a total of $5,050 in cash set aside. The challenge can also progress linearly instead of randomly. The alternative approach would be to start with envelope #1 on the first day and put aside $1 then $2 into envelope #2 the next day, $3 into envelope #3 and so on.

Biweekly 100 envelope challenge

The 100 envelope challenge adds an element of surprise to your saving journey. Number envelopes from $1 to $100. Randomly pick two envelopes every two weeks and save the combined amount they represent. It's unpredictable and exciting!

A 30 day challenge simply takes an area you want to improve and encourages you to work on it daily for 30 days. For instance, if you want to start being more physically active, you may choose to start a workout challenge. This could be as simple as walking 5,000 steps each day or stretching every day.

Match each week's savings amount with the number of the week in your challenge. In other words, you'll save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on until you put away $52 in week 52.